In Munich we met up with the usual suspects for Oktoberfest 2007. The biggest Beer festival in the world traditionally takes place during the sixteen days up to and including the first Sunday in October. We arrived on Friday the 28th of September half way through the fest, hoping only to make it through the weekend.
The Festival began originally as a Royal Wedding Party on 12 October 1810 for Crown Prince Ludwig, later to become King Ludwig I, who married Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen. The citizens of Munich were invited to attend the festivities held on the fields in front of the city gates to celebrate the happy royal event. The fields were renamed Theresienwiese ("Theres'a Fields") to honor the Crown Princess, although the locals have since abbreviated the name simply to "Wiesn". Horse races in the presence of the royal family marked the close of the event that was celebrated as a festival for the whole of Bavaria. The decision to repeat the horse races in subsequent years gave rise to the tradition of Oktoberfest.
In the first few decades, the choices of amusements were sparse. In 1818, the first carousel and two swings were set up. Vistitors were able to quench their thirst at small beer stands, which grew rapidly in number. In 1896 the beer stands were replaced by the first beer tents and halls set up by the enterprising landlords with the backing of the breweries. The rest is history as they say.
We had no idea of what we were about to experience. We heard about drinking tents and beer, but that was all. It’s hard to explain but the best we can do is that it’s something like the Melbourne Royal Show minus the Agriculture and with the addition of BEER!!! In the centre are these big beer Halls (pictured above) surrounded is a carnival with rides, games and food.
Many of us were brave enough to try this ride out for fun. Perhaps with some Dutch Courage for good measure. Its called HIGH ENERGY for obvious reasons.
The inside of the Halls are crowded with tables and bench seats and the atmosphere is electric. People everywhere dressed up in traditional clothes all drinking from massive beer steins. The air is filled with music from a band in the centre of the Hall. Later in the afternoon, table chatter gives way to tabletop dancing and rowdy singing.
In the midst of all this action there is a faint haze in the air. Not the one you are thinking of though. The haze tantilises your taste buds as the local cuisine is cooked off to the side. From roast chicken to pork knuckle and sausages. As a matter of fact, over half a million roast chickens and the same number of sausages are consumed during the course of each festival.
The steins are made of a solid 1 inch thick glass and hold one litre of the amber ale. This amounts to a very heavy drinking experience. The waiters boasted they could carry 16 steins at one time however the rules of the festival stated they could only carry 8 for safety reasons. Here's John having a go.
Our first day at the festival coincided with the last Saturday in September. All Australians know what that means. At 5am in the Morning we were sitting in the local Irish pub (there were no Aussie ones available) rally behind Geelong as they won the Grand Final. 
As you can see from the pictures, it was a once in a lifetime experience. We had a ball and even learnt a German word. Prost! (Cheers!)
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